Blood and Shadow | Upcoming Slot Review

Release Date: March 7th, 2023

Provider: NoLimit City

Volatility: High

Reels: 5

Paylines: 1024-3125

Min/Max Bet: $.20/$280

Max Win: 6,666

RTP: 96.13%

To be honest with you, No Limit City has been on a run of games that have disappointed me recently. While they still have that “No Limit Volatility”, none of them have grabbed me like some of the games previously released by the incredibly successful provider. With that in mind, I approached Book and Shadows with precarious hope. The game is the sequel to the extremely popular Book of Shadows. Fun fact, Book of Shadows was the first game that I hit a 1000x on. So remembering that, lets get into the review.

The Basics

Blood and Shadows goes all in on the demonic presence that the original game set up. The young girl that everyone wanted to see go full screen in Book of Shadows has seemingly gotten a little more powerful. The base game is played on a 4x5 reel with 1024 paylines. 4 low symbols, 4 medium symbols, skull wilds and a heart are the only thing that players will see land on the color muted reels. Payouts range from .05x-1.5x for a single payline with a max win of 1,536 for a full screen of top symbol, an old decrepit lady.

Players will notice a bar at the bottom of the reels with a 0/20. Any medium or premium symbols will charge the bar 1 charge and hearts will charge the bar for 10. Filling the bar will award 2 candle spins and upgrade the lowest medium symbol as well as removing the lowest paying symbol. Each time the bar is filled, 2 more spins will be awarded and another symbol will disappear and another medium symbol will be upgraded. Once in the candle spins, wilds become sticky until they are part of a win. The “Ritual Bar” also increases from 20 to 30 to reach level 3. Reaching level 3 is considered “Baphomet Spins” and reaching level 5 awards “Cursed Spins”.

Bonus Round

The bonus in Blood and Shadows is a bit different. Technically, filling the bar the first time and receiving 2 free spins is a “bonus,” but we as players want more. Luckily, there is plenty more.

Baphomet Spins – reaching level 3, or buying your way to level 3 (for 66x your wager) awards 6 free spins and 3 premium symbol upgrades. Every medium or premium connection contributes to the ritual bar giving hope for the Cursed Spins.

Cursed Spins – reaching level 5, or buying your way to level 5 (for 500x your wager) awards an additional 6 spins (10 total spins if bought). Every medium symbol is now a premium symbol. This is where our friend, “The Girl”, from Book of Shadows returns. The reels grow to 5x5, increasing the payline total to 3125, and hearts now award +1 spins. There are no low or medium pay symbols in this bonus and the payouts increase to 0.75x – 8x your wager per line.

A new symbol is added to the reels in the form of the iconic X-Split. X-Splits are arrows that spin and will split either vertically or horizontally, doubling the symbols hit. Multiple X-Splits can be on the same row but cannot drop double on the same reel. Any wild that is “split” and not connected to will hold its multiplier for the next spin.

Players, where able, have the option to buy two different “Lucky Draws.” For 55x your wager, you can draw at level 1-5 on the ritual meter. While this has the chance for a very VERY cheap Curse Spins, starting at level 1 does feel bad. The other lucky draw costs 166x your wager and guarantees levels 3-5. In my short demo play, this felt the most profitable way to buy bonuses. Landing the level 4 bonus has a decent chance or entering Cursed Spins at a discount and of course there is always the chance to land on level 5 to start with.

The final “feature” is called “The Pact is Sealed.” No Limit City has begun naming each of their max wins something different (and I am okay with it.) This isn’t a real feature but is what they have coined the modest max win. The max win is only 6,666x. While this is a little low compared to other No Limit games, thematically how could anyone resist?

Conclusion  

I am excited for this game to be released. This is the first No Limit City game since maybe Road Rage that I have been genuinely excited for. The theme is dark, the music is non-existent until you reach Cursed Spins, and the volatility is high, but overall I had so much fun playing this game. The chase and high hit rate kept me excited and hopeful of reaching Cursed Spins; the “Lucky Draw” features were generous enough to keep me trying, and the super bonus buy (for those that enjoy) was entertaining enough for me to chase up to a 2500x pay in the demo. Overall, I think this could be one of my favorite No Limit Games of all time and I hope you enjoy when it releases on March 7th on ChipsGG.

Esbon’s Evaluation: 9.5/10 – “Fantastic Sequel to Book of Shadows”

• Dark theme is well done and doesn’t scare anyone away.
• The call back to Book of Shadows are great and welcome.
• The “build up bonus” felt new and exciting.
  

Credit: Esbon251